Abstract: The Irene Robinson Collection of Artwork contains artwork relating to
Irene Robinson's professional work. The collection contains illustrations from sixteen texts,
all authored by W.W. Robinson. These texts, published largely between 1931 and 1966, include
both children's picture books and perspectives on Southern California history. The collection
also includes a number of sketches for potential new books and miscellaneous artwork by Irene
Robinson. The collection contains charcoal, pastel, and pencil drawings, oil paintings,
watercolors, and textual materials.

Physical location: Please consult repository.

Languages: Languages represented in the collection: English

Access

Collection open for research.

Publication Rights

All requests for permission to publish must be submitted in writing to Denison Library.

Irene Margaret Bowen Robinson (1891 - 1973) was born in Washington state, but she grew up in
Indianapolis, Indiana, and Pasadena, California. In 1915, she attended Drury College in
Springfield, Missouri, and later studied at the University of Chicago, the Broadmoor Art Academy
with John Carlson in Colorado Springs, and in Los Angeles at the Chouinard and Otis Art
Institutes. In the early 1920s, she taught art in Los Angeles and then married W. W. (William
Wilcox) Robinson, a businessman and writer.

Irene Robinson and her husband Will began to publish collaboratively in approximately 1931.
Under the authorship of Will, with Irene as illustrator, their published works include more than
fifteen illustrated works for children and adults. Will was an avid collector of Southern
California ephemera and knowledge, and published books on the subject include The Story of
Pershing Square, The Malibu, and The Island of Santa Catalina. The couple also published many
children's books, including some of the first children's books on the subject of prehistoric
animals (Ancient Animals and The Beasts of the Tar Pits).

Irene and Will Robinson were in their late 70s when they began to search for a home for their
collaborative work. At the suggestion of Lawrence Clark Powell, the majority of Irene's artwork
(valued at approximately $5000 in 1968 by Glen Dawson) found its home at Denison Library,
Scripps College, in 1968.

Irene died in January 1973, less than a year after her husband.

Scope and Content of Collection

The Irene Robinson Collection of Artwork contains artwork relating to Irene Robinson's
professional work. The collection contains illustrations from sixteen texts, all authored by
W.W. Robinson. These texts, published largely between 1931 and 1966, include both children's
picture books and perspectives on Southern California history. The collection also includes a
number of sketches for potential new books and miscellaneous artwork by Irene Robinson. The
collection contains charcoal, pastel, and pencil drawings, oil paintings, watercolors, and
textual materials.